Radio Frequency Identification Tagging

The five pilot tests showed RFID can potentially reduce costs for both owners and contractors. The contractor pilot showed that RFID tags provided a time savings, particularly when downloading data into a company’s procurement tracking system and when “flagging” an item to prevent duplicate entries. For the owner applications, there were lower rework costs, reduced inventory shrinkage, reduced start-up times, and positive material identification. (RS151-1, p. 14)

From an owner’s perspective, the area of asset management could benefit the most from RFID technology. If manufacturers were required to encode RFID tags with standard information at the point of manufacture and to place the encoded tags upon components, the contractor could, upon receipt of the components, use the tags for inventory control at the job site, including preventive maintenance requirements that would apply throughout the life of the component during the project’s storage and installation cycles. When the asset was turned over to the owner, the information stored on the RFID tag could be used to track the life of the asset during its maintenance and operation period. (RS151-1, p. 22)

Both owners and contractors need to investigate processes where other identification technologies are being used (e.g., bar codes) and determine if RFID is a better fit due to the inherent limitations of other technologies. Owners may need to take an active role in implementing RFID on construction projects because contractors may be unable or unwilling to cover additional costs involved due to their tight budget constraints. (RS151-1, p. 23)